____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ February 13, 1994 ____________________________________________________ Islam: Simple Creed Promotes Fast-Growing Faith by Glover Shipp The Gulf crisis has brought a renewed interest in Islam, the faith that began in Saudi Arabia and holds religious/political sway over much of Africa, Asia and even in the West. American men and women have suddenly found themselves in the midst of Muslims. Observing strange customs, they ask, ``Just what is Islam all about?'' According to Edward J. Jurji, a lifelong student of this religion, ``Islam'' means submission to the will of Allah, or God, ``in whose eyes all men are equal, in whose service all men are brothers.'' He goes on to say, ``Newest of the world's major religions and with claim as the fastest-growing, it centers on the simplest, most straightforward of creeds: `There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his prophet''' (Severy 1971: 225). Who was Mohammed, this man who turned a despised Arabian sect into what became the most powerful empire in the world? He was born in Mecca in about 570 A.D. Orphaned at an early age, he was brought up principally by an uncle. At age 12, he came under the influence of Christian hermits while on journeys with his uncle to Syria. These told him that eventually he would be a prophet. He also had frequent contacts with Jewish traders and their religion. Uneducated, Mohammed became a shepherd and camel driver, gaining the nickname ``al-amin,'' which means ``the trustworthy one.'' At 25 he received an offer of marriage from a wealthy widow. He accepted and found domestic harmony, had four daughters and was able, with his new-found financial means, to spend considerable time in meditation. His favorite haunt was a cave on Mt. Hira, three miles from Mecca. In that location, in the year 610, he received a ``vision.'' He heard a voice that was later attributed to the angel Gabriel, who gave him a series of phrases. In this manner appeared the first segment of what Islamic peoples believe is God's final revelation, the Koran, dictated to Mohammed directly from tables of stone in Paradise. These writings, later codified, were the result of a lifetime of meditative sayings, many of which were taken directly from Old Testament and New Testament sources. The sayings dealt with every imaginable kind of instruction for government, civil, social, family and individual life. Mohammed was persecuted in his early prophetic days. Under the death penalty, he fled with his wife and a few followers to Medina, another Arabian city, where he formed the structure that became Islam. Jurji calls it one of the world's great success stories. ``He began it as a fugitive; he ended it 10 years later as the spiritual and political leader of a new state, a state that in another decade had burst out of Arabia to shake the leading powers of the Western world...'' (1971:229). The Koran, put together in piecemeal fashion, has a foundation of ``Five Pillars.'' They are: Belief -- One God, Allah, with Mohammed as his final great prophet and the Koran as God's word. Prayer -- Five times a day, from dawn to nightfall, Muslims bow to the earth and face Mecca in ritual prayer. Benevolence -- Charity is essential to the purification of one's possessions. Fasting -- Abstaining from food helps draw a person nearer to God. Pilgrimage -- Each Muslim should make at least one hajj (holy pilgrimage) to Mecca in his lifetime. This annual reunion fosters brotherhood among Muslims of all national or ethnic backgrounds. Islam is still potent today and is evangelistic in its determination to conquer new regions for Allah. Originally, it had a sense of respect and leniency for both the Jewish and Christian faiths, since all three look to such commonly-held heroes as Abraham and the Old Testament prophets. Later developments, especially the Crusades, created a bitter hatred still seen today between the Islamic and Christian worlds. Today we see hundreds of thousands of American military people stationed in the desert between two antagonistic Islamic countries, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, both ardently holding to the same religion. These people are an enigma to us. What makes them what they are? The most obvious distinctives American troops see in Muslims, according to Dyess Air Force Base newspaper, The Peacemaker, are that ``women were created to be subordinate to men. All women must be covered from head to foot when in public. Because they are not allowed to interact socially with men, marriages are arranged by their families.'' Dr. Jabr Al-Atrash, professor of Arabic at Abilene Christian University, notes that Islam pervades every aspect of Saudi Arabian life. Citizens cannot drink or smoke, nor can they have social contact with women. These are superficial cultural values of a system that is both rigid and enduring. Evertt Huffard, who spent a number of years among Islamic peoples in the Middle East and who has studied Islam in depth, commented on its continuing strength: ``An organizing principle--a power that binds together all Muslims--is a social, historical loyalty that is not unlike the unifying force behind Judaism. There is a genuine commitment to the faith, but often little knowledge of what it teaches. The tie is strongly ethnic, with much historical and cultural baggage added to it.'' When asked how we might turn around our historical indifference toward Islam, Huffard answered, ``There are a lot of good Muslims, but we will hit a powerful barrier of cultural and historical roots. Muslims have a strong sense of honor and heritage; of extended family; of group rather than individual decision-making. We as American Christians approach others on an individual basis--one-on-one against the stream. In the case of Muslims, we cannot succeed on this basis, for they have strong group loyalties.'' How, then, can we succeed? Huffard answered, ``As a church we must dump the concept of individual evangelism and move toward the conversion of entire groups. Our beginning place must be to look at Muslims as good people who are trying to live a daily existence. To our thinking they have become like the ancient Samaritans. We must begin showing them understanding and love.'' (Let me, Tom Edwards, interject here that I agree with Lynn Wessel in his response to the above comment by Huffard. Lynn writes: ``Muslims are part of the `whole world' to which we must take the gospel. This article addresses the difficulty of doing that. I personally don't agree with the language of Huffard when he said, `As a church we must dump the concept of individual evangelism....' I understand the concept in which he made this statement, but I don't believe we should ever `dump' individual evangelism. It is a part of our Lord's way of evangelizing the world. He set the example for one on one evangelism and was successful with all kinds of people. We should be open to trying different approaches with different people, but no one should rule out `individual evangelism.''') David Barrett, author of research materials on comparative religions, announced that in 1990 almost five million practicing Muslims were living in the United States alone. Not only in the Middle East, but, right here in our own nation, mosques are more and more piercing our ``evangelical'' skies with their distinctive minarets. We have met the ``enemy'' here in our own land, and he or she has proved to be our neighbor. Out of the Gulf Crises may come better understanding and a more thoughtful approach to Muslim peoples. Bob Douglas, director of Zwemer Institute for Islamic Studies in Pasadena, Calif., said, ``We need to analyze the Mideast at two levels. One is the present situation and the other is the long-range picture.'' The long-range view, including 1,300 years of Islamic history, must be studied, understood and strategized, if we are to ever take the Gospel to Islamic peoples. ___________________________________________ "...'Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law. For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you shall prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess'" (Deut. 32:46,47). ___________________________________________ HOW TO BE SAVED FROM SIN 1. Understand the desperate need of salvation from sin! Isa. 59:1-2; Rom. 3:23; John 8:24. 2. Hear the gospel message. Rom. 10:17; I Cor. 15:1-8. 3. Respond to this message. I Cor. 15:2; II Thess. 1:8. 4. Believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Matt. 16:16-17; Mark 16:16; John 3:16; Heb. 11:6. 5. Turn from all sin; Repent! Luke 13:3-5; Acts 17:30-31; II Pet. 3:9b; Acts 2:38. 6. Confess your faith in Jesus. Rom. 10:9-10; I Tim. 6:12; Matt. 10:32-33. 7. Be baptized for the forgiveness of sin. Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; I Peter 3:21; Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3-4; Acts 22:16. 8. Be faithful to Jesus until death! I Cor. 15:58; II Pet. 1:5-11; Rev. 2:10; II Cor. 5:15; Acts 2:42. -- via Sound Words, Vol. II, No. 5. ___________________________________________ ``SOLD OUT'' by Leo B. Plyer This title tells us what somebody has done. If it is on the door of a business, it tells us that the owner for a sum turned it over to another. It may also mean that the company is a ``has been'' and now no longer exists, for it is nothing. ``Sold out'' on a drink box tells us that the goods contained have been used up and consequently there are no more available. How unhappy it is to find this sign when we are in need. ``Sold out'' describes the action of some religious people. Balaam sold out to Balak. Judas sold out for thirty pieces of silver. Demas forsook Paul and the disciples turned away from Jesus and walked no more with Him. They all ``SOLD OUT.'' Like Esau, some who had hold of eternal life, sell out for a mess of pottage. For worldly pleasure men sell out to Satan. Some now have ``sold out'' to be in favor with their parents or friends. Many have ``sold out'' religiously for a job or to have peace in their earthly family, for ``a mess of pottage''--not like Paul, he continued in the faith (Col. 1:23). ``Sold out'' is a ``has been.'' It is empty--no good. ``Buy the truth and sell it not.'' -- via The Prevailing Word ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________